Tower-style patio heaters, referred to herein as “tower heaters” and illustrated in FIG. 1, are frequently used in outdoor common areas to provide warmth to people in the vicinity of the heater. Tower heaters radiate heat, typically generated by combustion of liquid propane gas (LPG) or natural gas, or by an electrical heating element, to warm a circular area around and under the heater. Unfortunately, for outdoor seating, such as on a residential patio or in a patio section of a restaurant, the heater is typically located beside the table and therefore does not evenly warm the people around the table. It would be advantageous to locate the heater at the center of the table to evenly distribute the heater's effective radius. However, placing a tall, heavy, high-temperature heater on a table top is impractical and unsafe, and is therefore not a viable option.
Heater tables exist that have a heater built into the table, or alternatively have a table built around the heater. U.S. Pat. No. 6,192,878 and U.S. Des. Pat. No. D462,427 illustrate two examples of a small table top built around a tower heater. However, these tables are sized to accommodate three people at most. Scaling such a design up so that the table top has enough surface area to accommodate four or more people comfortably presents two major problems. First, a table with a permanently attached heater becomes unwieldy and is too heavy or too large to move easily. Second, it becomes difficult to access the propane tank and associated controls contained in the base of the tower heater due to the increased area of the table top. A heater table that seats four or more people, accommodates a heater within its perimeter, is easy to move, and allows easy access to the propane tank, is needed.
One known table, described in U.S. Pat. No. 7,296,522, attempts to overcome the drawbacks of previous heater tables by providing a table top that has an aperture in the center through which a tower heater projects. The table splits completely in half to provide access to the heater's tank housing. The two halves of the table can be moved separately from the heater. This heater table presents several of its own drawbacks. First, a support brace that attaches to the table legs must be removed in order to separate the table top halves. This creates additional steps for gaining access to the tank or moving the table. Second, and relatedly, with the support brace removed, each half of the table lacks support and thus cannot be used as a table when separated from the other half. Third, because the halves are not supported when separate, opening and closing the table is a two-person undertaking, with one person holding each half. Finally, as the table increases in size, such as to a six- or eight-person dining table, some people will be seated outside the radius of the single, centrally-located heater. A heater table that overcomes these drawbacks is needed.
Therefore, it is an object of this invention to provide a heater table that accommodates a tower heater within its perimeter, is easy to move, and provides easy access to the heater's tank housing. It is a further object that the housing be accessible without removing any support structures. It is a further object that the heater table be easily moved between an open and a closed position by a single person. It is another object that the heater table be divided into sections that are separately configured to serve as stand-alone tables. It is a further object that the table sections have different shapes that may be mixed and matched to allow different table configurations. It is another object that the table is configured to receive features in addition to tower heaters, such as umbrellas and fire plates. It is yet another object of the invention to provide a dining-sized heater table that adequately heats all seating positions.